Did you know in some countries mangos are considered the symbol of love? I can clearly understand why mangos are so revered: tangy and exotic when still green and fresh. Your heart skips a beat with every glance and taste. Yet, so sweet and familiar when ripe, like a satisfying, life-long love.  It’s easy keep mangos near and dear to your heart.

And your kitchen. Their intense, sunny aroma. Bright hued yellow fruit.

Mangos, to me, are the essence of the tropics.  Just looking at them transports me to a vacation paradise. A hot, and steamy paradise where the last thing you want to do is turn on your oven. So don’t. Transform your kitchen from a sweltering furnace into a tropical summer oasis and add some sizzle to your love… errr….. table… with a spicey, colorful Thai Mango Slaw. Like a vacation for your senses.

Perfect for lunch while lounging on a teak deck, under a banyan tree, balmy ocean breeze rustling your sarong, hand in hand with your true love…

Thai Mango Slaw

only slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• 1 mango, peeled and julienned
• 1/2 lb. cabbage, julienned
• 1/2 red pepper, julienned
• 1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
• small carrot, julienned
• juice and zest from one lime (about 3 tbsp. juice)
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. chili paste (sambel ulek)
• 3 Tbsp. thinly sliced mint leaves
• 1 Tbsp. chopped peanuts

• Toss mango, cabbage, pepper, onion and carrot in a bowl. Whisk together lime juice, zest, vinegar, salt, and chili paste. Pour over slaw and mix until well combined. Serve immediately or within one hour. Keep cool if not serving soon. Top with mint and peanuts just before serving.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for napa cabbage which, in the Middle Of Nowhere is a foreign concept. Just like, I imagine, having mango in your slaw is a little alien. I ended up buying a bag of pre-cut slaw which worked just fine.
• There is also oil in the original recipe which I omitted. Just because.
• I halved the recipe (the halved version above) because we are only two…we almost finished it as a side dish, if you’re serving a larger family I would double the recipe (ie. use 2 mangos, an entire bag of cabbage slaw, etc).
• I served it with BBQ chicken that I marinated in mango chutney, lime juice, soy sauce, chili paste, a little honey, a dash of cumin and curry powder. Yum!
• For the ripeness of the mango: choose what you like best. I don’t like mine too ripe so I picked a medium firm mango. In a true Thai salad, I think the mango would be pretty green and tart. If you get a mango that is to0 ripe it will turn to mush in the salad.

BONUS points awarded if you can tell me exactly where I took the polaroid picture.